Sewer-cleaning apparatus.



J. F. KUHLMAN. SEWER'CLEANING APPARATUS APPLICATION HLED AUG-7. H314.

Patented May 30, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Patented May 30, 19 16.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

THB COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH (10., WASHINGTON. n. c.

' J. F. KUHLMAN. SEWER CLEANING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION men AusJ. i914.

Pafnefited MaySO, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

JOHN F. KUHLMAN, OF HAMMOND, INDIANA.

SEWER-CLEANING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 30, 1916.

Application filed August 7, 1914. Serial No. 855,656.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN F. KUHLMAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hammond, in the county of Lake and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewer-Cleaning Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to sewer cleaning apparatus and more'particularly to the type in which a scraper is dragged to and fro between two successive manholes and withdrawn as often as the scraper bucket has been filled.

The principal objects of the present invention are to provide means whereby the guiding apparatus for the haulingcable can be readily brought into engagement with or disengaged from the cable so that there is no necessity to arrange that the guiding means is raised to the surface of the ground whenever the scraper proper is lifted out of the manhole; to provide means whereby the guiding apparatus swings the scraper substantially into the middle of the manhole clear of the walls thereof; to provide means whereby the end of the scraper proper acts as a scraper during the scraping operation and as a bucket closing member during the reverse movement of the scraper; and to provide improved means whereby the sewer scraping apparatus as a whole can be put into operation in a very short time and with fewer adjustments than has been the case hitherto, together with certain further objects which will hereinafter appear.

In attaining the desired objects and certain additional advantages to be below pointed out, I have provided a construction,

a preferred embodiment of which employing the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein- Figure 1 is a vertical section through a manhole and portion of a sewer showing the apparatus in operative position, the discharging position of the bucket being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a horizontal section on the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a medial longitudinal vertical section of the bucket when in the scraping position; Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the bucket in the position shown in Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is a section through the bucket on the line 66 of Fig. 4, viewed in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, 1 represents the manhole over which is arranged a truck 2 which carries the hoisting drum, 3, whereby the scraper is hauled along the sewer to the bottom of the manhole and subsequently raised through the latter. This hoisting drum, 3, is rotated by a crank, 4. The rope or cable, 5, leading from the hauling drum, passes over the pulley or sheave, 6, and from thence into the manhole. I

One of the principal features of the invention is the manner in which the cable, 5, is prevented from becoming frayed by rubbing against the end of the sewer where the latter makes junction with the manhole and in which the bucket is carried clear of the manhole walls. In the arrangement shown a sheave 7 is provided around which the cable 5 passes to the scraper bucket 8, this sheave being'rotatably mounted on a pivoted pulley jack or arm, 9, adapted to swing about a pivot, 10, which may be suitably mounted on a frame temporarily fixed between the walls of the manhole. While the scraper is being drawn along the sewer,

the pressure of the cable against the pulley,

7, keeps the arm, 9, in its lowermost position. When, however, the scraper comes into contact with the sheave, 7, or with the arm, 9, carrying it, the latter is swung into the middle of the manhole thereby carrying the scraper proper clear of the manhole walls. Eventually, as the arm is raised, it is brought into the position shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 1, when a latch, 11, engages a projection, 12, on the arm, 9, and holds the arm in its elevated position.

As will be seen from Fig. 2, the cable, 5, is free to leave the sheave, 7 as soon as the tension on the cable tends to draw the cable away from the sheave. Accordingly as soon as the arm, 9, is brought to its elevated position shown in Fig. 1, the scraper, 8, is free to rise unobstructed for thepurpose of discharging its accumulated contents. The

discharged and is returned to the manhole again for a further scraping operation it is necessary of course to bring the sheave, 7,

once more into engagement with the cable, 5.

For this purpose the arm, 9, is provided at its outer end with two diverging projections, 13, so that when the arm, 9, is released by lifting the latch, 11, as by means of the rope, 14, these forked projections, 13, will engage the cable, 5, and guide the same into the groove of the sheave, 7, whereupon the apparatus will resume a position for further scraping. Vhile the sheave, 7, provides for the passage of the cable, 5, around the corner of the sewer during the scraping and hauling operations, it is also desirable to provide anti-friction rollers, 15, suitably arranged on the frame which carries the pivoted pulley jack, 9, for the cable, 5, to pass over after the arm, 9, has been raised to its elevated position.

Another feature of importance consists in arranging the guiding apparatus for the cable, 5, entirely independently of the hoisting apparatus. lVith such an arrangement the adjustments which have to be made are reduced to a minimum since all that is required for putting the apparatus in position is to arrange the frame which carries the cable guiding apparatus in the manhole and then wheel the hoisting apparatus thereover, there being no need to accurately adjust the position of the hauling means to the manhole as there is no connection between the hauling means and the guiding means other than the cable 5.

The cable guiding apparatus is prefer ably mounted on a frame which is lowered into the manhole, preferably anchored at one side thereof, and then wedged against the opposite side thereof or else expanded so as to press against the walls of the latter. To put the frame into position a support suitably in the form of hook, 16, is placed over the rim of the manhole, the support being preferably provided at one end with a split portion or claw hook, 17, for engaging any one of the links of the chain, 18, which chain is preferably connected to one side of the expanding frame, whereby the frame is supported prior to its implacement, the opposite side of the frame being sustained and liftable by means of a cable, 18*. A projection, 19, is preferably provided at the lower end of the frame in order to insure that the frame carrying the guiding means is lowered sufliciently far into the manhole before it is clamped between the walls of the same to make certain that the cable will come in contact with the anti-friction rollers l5 and not with the rough edge of the sewer.

The arrangement of the frame in the manhole is clearly shown in Fig. 3, from Which it Will be seen that it forms a threepoint suspension, two points of which are arranged on the yoke, 20, and the third on the yoke, 21. -These two yokes are forced apart by rotating the members, 22, which are provided at one end with ball and socket joints, 23, and their other ends with threaded portions engagin threaded sleeves, 24, connected to each en of the yoke, 21.

Another important feature of the invention is in the construction of the scraper whereby one of the portions at one end acts as a scraper when the scraper is moved as a whole in scraping direction and both end portions act as closing members when the scraper is moved in the opposite direction. To accomplish this function the scraper is formed with two trough shaped shells or bucket portions 25 and 26 which are pivoted to each other on each side at the point 27. These shells 25 and 26 are provided with runners or strengthening ribs, 28, on their outsides. These ribs have hooked ends, 29, which pass through holes in the end members, 30 and 31, which end members are pivotally attached to side members, 32, by the pins, 33. The side members, 32, have attached to each end the yokes, 34 and 35, respectively to which the hauling cables are fastened.

It will be observed that the bucket portions, 25 and 26, are not connected to the cables used for drawing the scraper to and fro along the sewer except indirectly by the hooked ends, 29, of the ribs, 28. Accordingly when the yoke, 3a, is pulled in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 4:, the friction of the shell, 25, against the bottom of the sewer causes the shell by means of its hook, 29, to pull the end portion, 30, into its open or scraping position and simultaneously raise the upper portion, 31, as shown in Fig. 41. The extent to which the end portions, 30 and 31, can open is limited by the projections, 4:2, on the upper shell, 26, which projections act as stops for the pins or projections, 38, at the ends of the yoke, 35, and which pass through the side bars, 32. When the scraper has been filled it is pulled in the opposite direction by means of the yoke, 35. The first action of such movement is to move the side plates, 32, so as to close the end of the scraper by bringing the parts, 30 and 31, together. The bucket portions of the scraper are prevented from swinging transversely with respect to the side bars, 32, during this relative motion of the bucket portions and the side bars, 32', by shaping the adjacent edges, 36 and 37, of the bucket shells so as to form a slot in which the pin, 38, can move to and fro as required.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In sewer cleaning apparatus, the combination of a scraper, an arm pivotally bination of a scraper, a frame adapted to be mounted to rock about a fixed point adjacent the walls of a sewer manhole, a cable secured to the said scraper, and a guiding member on said arm for the said cable, the arrangement being such that as said scraper arrives at said arm and guiding member when being drawn by said cable, said arm and guide will move on its pivot whereby said scraper is carried free of the walls of such manhole when being withdrawn therefrom by said cable.

2. In sewer cleaning apparatus, the combination of a scraper, an arm pivotally mounted to rock about a fixed point adjacent the walls of a sewer manhole, a cable secured to said scraper, and a guiding member on said arm for said cable, said guiding member being normally in a dependent position with respect to said fixed point, the arrangement being such that as said scraper arrives at said arm and guiding member when being drawn by said cable said arm will move upwardly whereby said scraper is carried free of the walls of said manhole when being withdrawn therefrom by said cable.

3. In sewer cleaning apparatus, the combination of a scraper, an arm pivotally mounted to rock about a fixed point adjacent the walls of a sewer manhole, a cable secured to said scraper, a guiding member on said arm for said cable, said guiding member being normally in a dependent position with respect to said fixed point, and automatic means for releasably holding said arm in elevated position when raised to such position, the arrangement being such that as said scraper arrives at said arm and guiding member when being drawn by said cable said arm will move upwardly and become locked in its raised position by said automatic holding means, whereby said scraper is carried free of the walls of said manhole when being withdrawn therefrom by said cable.

4. In sewer cleaning apparatus, the compositioned between walls of a sewer manhole, an arm pivotally mounted to rock on said frame, a sheave rotatably mounted on said arm, a cable secured to the said scraper and passing over said sheave, the arrangement being such that as said scraper contacts said arm when being drawn by said cable said arm will move on its pivot whereby said scraper is carried free of the walls of such manhole when being withdrawn therefrom by said cable.

5. In sewer cleaning apparatus, the com bination of a scraper, a frame adapted to be positioned between walls of a sewer manhole, an arm pivotally mounted to rock about a fixed point on said frame, a sheave operatively mounted on said arm, said sheave being normally in a dependent position with respect to said fixed point, a cable secured to said scraper and passing over said sheave, means for imparting a hauling movement to said cable, the arrangement being such that as said scraper arrives at said arm when being drawn by said cable said arm and sheave will move whereby said scraper is carried free of the walls of said manhole when being withdrawn therefrom by said cable.

6. A sewer cleaning apparatus comprising in combination a scraper, a cable attached to the said scraper for hauling it along the sewer, an arm pivoted to'swing in a fixed plane about a fixed fulcrum, a guide pulley mounted on said arm for guiding said cable and diverging arms on either side of said pulley adapted to lead said cable to said pulley.

7. A sewer cleaning apparatus comprising in combination a scraper, a cable attached to the said scraper for hauling it along the sewer, an arm pivoted to swing in a fixed plane about a fixed fulcrum, a guide mounted on said arm for guiding said cable and diverging arms on either side of said guide adapted to lead said cable to said guide.

8. A sewer cleaning apparatus comprising in combination, a scraper, means attached to the scraper for hauling it along the sewer, guiding means for said hauling means, disengageable therefrom and means adapted to lead the hauling means to the guiding means to reengage said hauling and guiding means.

9. A sewer cleaning apparatus comprising in combination, a scraper, a cable attached to the said scraper for hauling it along the sewer, guiding means for said cable at the level of the sewer, a frame mounted between the walls of the manhole for carrying said guiding means, further guiding means for the cable above the ground independently mounted with respect to the first guiding means, and means for moving the first guiding means out of the path of the scraper inits upward movement whereby the said subscribed witnesses.

JOHN F. KUHLMAN.

Witnesses PAUL CARPENTER, DONALD C. WILLIAMS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

scraper can be readily moved past said guid- 

